White House estimates impact of automatic cuts on New York

New Yorkers who work for the Department of Defense are at risk of being the state's biggest losers in automatic cuts to the federal budget set to take hold this week, according to a report the White House issued Sunday as it seeks to avoid the impending economic fallout.

The state's schools and teachers are also at serious risk, as are efforts to protect clean air and water.

The White House compiled the numbers from federal agencies and its own budget office. The numbers are based only on the $85 billion in cuts for this fiscal year, from March to September, that were set to take effect Friday.

As to whether states could move money around to cover shortfalls, the White House said that depends on state budget structures and the specific programs.

Advertisement

The White House did not have a list of which states or programs might have flexibility.

Among the possible impacts in New York:

MILITARY:

-- About 12,000 civilian who work for the Department of Defense would be furloughed, bringing gross pay down by just under $61 million.

-- Funding for the operation of Army bases would be cut by $108 million.

EDUCATION:

-- New York's primary and secondary schools would lose just under $43 million, affecting close to 600 teacher and aide jobs.

-- $36.3 million meant for 440 employees who work with children with disabilities would also be lost.

ENVIRONMENT:

-- The state's efforts to protect the cleanliness of its water and quality of its air would be hampered by almost $13 million in lost funding.

SENIORS:

-- The state would lose out on almost $1.5 million in funds to help get meals to senior citizens.

VACCINES:

-- Funding would be cut by just under $500,000, meaning more than 7,100 children would not get shots for illnesses including measles, mumps, whooping cough and influenza.